Angel casteo



(N b Model.)

A. CASTRO.

MARINE ToRPEDo.

Patented July 28, 1885 UNITED STATES ArEN'r Ormes,

ANGEL CASTRO, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

IVIARHNIE TORPEDO.

SPECIFICATION fol-"ming part of Letters Patent No. 322,900, dated July28, 1885. Application filed May Y19, 1885. (No model.)

i To all whom it may concern,.-

VIO

Be it known that I, ANGEL CASTRO, of New York city, in `the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Torpedoes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a torpedo and anchorage therefor designed forsubmarine use; and it consists in a novel construction of the samehereinafter fully explained, whereby the torpedo is` held submergedbelow the draftline of the largest vessels until released by themanipulation of an electrically-controlled detent,` whereupon thetorpedo rises, attaches itself to the vessel, and is automatically 1ired or exploded. p l In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of the torpedo, partially in section; Fig. 2, a viewillustrating the mode of ascertaining the position of the saine; Fig. 3,a viewillustrating the mode of employing the torpedo; Fig. 4, a diagramshowing the arrangement of circuits.

A indicates the shell'or fcasing of the torpedo, which is divided by ahorizontal partition r diaphragm, B, into an upper chamber, C, and lowerchamber, D, the former contain l ing air to give the necessary buoyancy,and the latter containing a charge of powder, dynamite, gun-cotton, orother explosive.

The shell maybe made o f iron, copper, or other suitable metal ormaterial, and lis prefelably in the form of a `concor pyramid, with ahemispherical base or lower end, though the form may be varied asdesired.

Secured to the lower part of the torpedo is a frame, E, formed of ironrods attached at their lower ends to a plate, a, to the under side ofwhich is secured a ring or loop, b. The purpose of the frame and ring isprimarily to provide means of `attachment to the anchorage F. The` framealso serves as a weight or `ballast to hold the torpedo in an uprightposition, point uppermost, and i as a drum or body on which to wind acable, G, through which an electric conductor, H, is carried. Saidconductor H connects with or is wound to form the coils cof aseries ofstationary electro-magnets, l,;1projecting from the face of the conicalupper `portion of the shell A on .all sides.

The conductor maybe wound around one core after another of the variousmagnets I, or it-may be divided up into a number of smaller conductors,each carefully insulated and running to one core or series or cores, andall reunitng above the magnets, or simply nn-V covered and allowedto-enter the water.

lf separatedinto aseries of smaller conductors, care must be taken towind all thc cores exactly alike to prevent the current from sclectingone magnet or series of magnets to the exclusion of others.

Between the electro-magnets l, and wholly independent of anddisconnected from the same, are cylindrical permanent magnets J, eacharranged to slide longitudinally through an insulating sleeve or tube, Jextending through thewall of the chamber C. The outer end of each magnetJ is covered by a cap, 7,

of thin rubber,which serves to completely enclude the water from the`chamber C, at the same time permitting the magnets J lto be more looselylitted, and consequently to move more freely than would be possible ifawatertight joint were required `between the magnets and theirinsulating-sleeves. Each magnet J carries atits inner end a spring crossbar or strip, c, and is encircled `by a light coiled spring, ,whichserves to draw the magnet inward and to hold the ends of the crossliar eaway from contact-blocks g g', with which it makes contact when themagnets slide outward.

The outer ends of the sliding permanent magnets J do not project so farfrom theV shell when the springs hold them inward as do the cores of theelectro-magnets, but come flush therewith when drawn out.

Kindicates a battery located in the upper or air` chamber, C, and L aresistance coil inA troduced in the battery-circuit, which circuit isformed by two wires, 71` and Tire 7l connects with or is wound toproduce the coil L, and passes thence downward into chamber l), where itis furnished with a short length,j, of platinum, iridium, carbon,copper, or like sul)- stance, `from which it passes to and connects withthe contact-blocks g y', its other end l eing connected with one pole ofthe battery K.

Wire li passes from the other pole of the battery to ihc cross-pieces ce of the sliding permanent magnets J J. Them therefore, the` magnets J Jmove outward, the circuit is coinplctcd through battery K, coil L, wire71., section j, cout-acts g g', cross-pieces e e, and wire fi, heatingthe portion j to incandescence, and thereby igniting the charge. f

Referring tol Fig. 1, the anchorageF will-be secu to include a base, k,which may be of metal, stone, or like heavy material, and a block, I,having a vertical slot or recess, m, to receive the ring b of thetorpedo, which is retained in the recess by a sliding bolt, a, urgedforward by a spring, o.

The insulated cable G, which is wound about the frame E of the torpedo,is attached to the block Z, 'enters the same, and is wound about an ironcore therein, thus forming Yan electromagnet, M, for which the slidingblock a serves as an armature. When, therefore, the electro-magnet M isenergized, the bolt n is attracted thereby and withdrawn from `ring b,thus releasing the torpedo and allowing it to rise toward the surface.The cable G continues to the shoreor operators station N, where itconnects with a battery, O, having a circuitcloser, O', from which asecond wire or conductor, p, runs to the water or back to the torpedo,connecting with the conductor I-I of cable G at a point above theelectro-magnets I. rlhe return-wire is, however, unnecessary, the

. water forming an adequate return.

Whenever a vessel is found to be over the torpedo, or so nearas to comeover it by the time the torpedo rises, the operator atv thecontrolling-station moves the circuit-closer O -to close the circuit,the electro-magnet M is energized and withdraws the bolt or detent n,thereby releasing the torpedo, which then rises toward the surface. Atthe same time and by the -sameaction the electro-magnets I areenergized, and as the torpedo rises it comes into contact with the ironor steel of the vessel, if it be an armored one, and the electromagnets,by reason of their strong attraction for the iron or steel, attachthemselves to the metal, and t-hus firmly attach the torpedo to thevessel.

I am aware that it hasvbeen proposed to -provide a torpedo with apermanent magnet or with a series of such magnets for the purposestated; but it is manifest that an adequately firm attachment cannot bethus se-v cured, the relation between the weight of the magnets and theattractive power thereof being such that a proper amount of magnetizedymetal cannot be carriedat the upper part of a torpedo of practicablesize, where of course rvthey must be located.

When the magnets I attach themselves to the metal of the vessel, saidmetal is within the field of attraction of the permanent magnets J,which at once move outward toward such metal, and in doing so carry thecrosspieces e e into contact with the blocks 'g g', and complete-thecircuitof the local battery K, whereupon the section j becomes heated toincandescence, as above stated. It will be seen that under thisconstruction* the torpedo is harmless to wooden vessels,

but acts automatically upon armored vessels; that it is under perfectcontrol of the operator, and that no netting or guard, such as now usedas a protection against ordinary torpedoes, can prevent the action ofthis.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a simpledevice for determining the depth of thetorpedo, in or.

der to-calculate the time required for it to rise to the vessel passingabove it. This consists, simply, of a horizontal bar or plate, Q, withtwo upright arms, o and w, the former provided with a small eye-hole, x,and the latter with a slit, y, and vertically-movable slide, z. At theside of the slit are marks or graduations, and knowing the location ofthe torpedo it is only necessary to move the slide yso that in lookingthrough the hole w, directly across the top of slide z, the line ofsight shall fall directly over the spot where the torpedo is located. gThe upper and lower graduations are made to indicate the position of.the slide at high and low tide, and the intermediate marks merelyindicate fractions of the difference between the two.

The torpedo herein described is simple and effective, and may bemanipulated without danger. ,l

Having thus d'escribedimy invention, what I claim isl. rIhe hereindescribed apparatusfor effecting submarine explosions, consisting of atorpedo having an eye or loop, an anchorage at the bed of the stream orbasin, provided with an electro-magnet, and a bolt or detent serving toengage the eye of the torpedo, and adapted to be withdrawn by theelectro-magnet, a battery, and a circuit-closer located at a convenientpoint for manipulation and ada-pted to close the battery-circuit.

2. In combination with a torpedo having its shell provided with an eyeor loop, b, an anchorage therefor below the water, provided withelectro-magnet M, a sliding bolt, n, serving as an armature for saidmagnet, a battery, O, a conductor, H, extending from the bat- ICO IIO

tery to the electro-magnet, and a circuit-closer,

O', 'adapted to complete the battery-circuit and to cause the withdrawalof the bolt a. 3. The combination of a submarine torpedo provided withexterior electro-magnets and with an eye or loop, an anchorage locatedbeneath the water, an electro-magnet located in said anchorage, asliding bolt placed within the iield of attraction of said magnet, abattery, an insulated electric conductor extending from the battery tothe electro magnet of the anchorage, and thence tothe externalelectro-magnets of the torpedo, and a circuitcloser, all constructed andarranged substantially as shown and described, whereby the closing ofthe circuit is caused to release the torpedo from its anchorage and toprepare the electro-magnets to fasten the torpedo to an armored vessel.

4. In combination with the shell A, containing an explosive,electro-magnets I on the outer face thereof, external battery, O, and a`circuit-wire connecting the battery O and the electro-magnets I, asandfor the purpose set forth.

5. A torpedo provided with au electric battery, and with a movablepermanent magnet (one or more) carrying 'a circuit-closer forsaidbattery, the permanent magnet being exposed at the exterior of thetorpedo, so that when brought close to the armor or metal of a vesselthe magnets will be automatically drawn out and caused to close thebattery-circuit.

6. The herein-described torpedo, consisting of a shell containing anair-space and a space for explosive material, a battery,an-interruptedcouduct-or connected with opposite poles of the battery,and containing a portion adapted to be heated by the passage of anelectric current through it, a circuit-closer for said conductor, and apermanent magnet connected withsaid circuit-closer and adapted to moveoutward automatically and close the circuit when brought close to anexternal body of iron or steel.

7. A torpedo consisting of shell A, eleetromagnet I on the outer facethereof, cable b, connecting the torpedo and its releasing device,external battery, O, internal battery, K, movablepermanent magnets J,projecting from the face of shell A, and provided at their inner endswith circuit-closers e, contact-blocks g g on the interior of the shell,and wires h v'.,

connecting the opposite poles of the internal battery, K, with thecircuit-closers e, and contacteblocks g g.

8. ln combination with shell A, containing eXplosivefmat-erial, internalbattery, K, movable magnets J on thc outer face of the shell,

ycontactblocks g `(/,on the inner face of the shell, circuit-closers ee', carried by the magnets d at their inner ends, wires h t', connectingthe battery K with the blocks g g and the closers e, and water-proofcaps d, covering the outer ends of the magnets, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.`

' ANGEL CASTRO. Witnesses:

WILLIAM W. DODGE, JAS. F. DE HAMEL.

